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Four great reasons to sweat the small stuff in your business

Adrian Mather

When you’re running a business, it’s easy to overlook the small things you have to do in favour of those high-profile tasks, or just the task in front of you right now. But by ignoring the little things, are you actually creating a bigger problem for
yourself further down the line, or even missing a big opportunity? Here are four little things that can add up to something big in your business.

We commissioned YouGov to poll a selection of small business owners about how they work - and found out that
just 1 in 4 claimed back all of their expenses, and 41% said they wouldn’t claim an out-of-pocket expense if they didn’t think it was worth it. But even small expenses can quickly add up and leave you out of pocket. We’ve found that a third of all
expenses recorded by UK small businesses using FreeAgent are for items worth less than £10; so you could be missing out on a tidy sum if you overlook these. Check out
our Expenses 101 guide to see how you can easily stay on top of the money you spend on your business and make sure you don’t lose out on anything.

Our data lab discovered recently that
small business owners and freelancers don’t charge for a third of the time that they actually spend working. And although some of that unpaid time may be getting spent on admin or personal investment, it could be time that should be billed, but has
slipped through the cracks. That’s why properly tracking your time is important for small businesses; so you can identify what areas of your work you don’t get paid for, where your pain points are and how you could potentially be more profitable.
Check out our guide for more information.

It isn’t just grand sweeping gestures or big, glitzy products that delight your customers. Often it’s the easily-overlooked small touches - or the “behind the scenes” stuff - that provides the real benefit to your business. This
Fast Company blog by Box CEO Aaron Levie argues that, in order to create exceptional products and services, you have to meticulously focus on the minor details. So whether that’s
sending a handwritten note when a customer buys something from you, or
sending an awesome reply to a 3-year-old who gives you feedback, remember you ignore the little things at your peril.